Trumps plane

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump will greet three Americans released by North Korea at an airbase near Washington on Thursday, underscoring a much needed diplomatic win and a stepping stone to a historic summit with Kim Jong Un. Trump will make the short helicopter ride from the White House to Joint Base Andrews to meet Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul in person, after their release on from North Korea on Wednesday. The North Korean regime granted the three men "amnesty," a US official said, removing a major point of friction between Washington and Pyongyang and a potential obstacle to talks between the Cold War foes. "I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. They seem to be in good health," Trump tweeted. Two of the men, agricultural expert Kim Hak-song and former professor Tony Kim were arrested in 2017, while … [Read more...] about Trump to greet Americans freed by North Korea

North Korea released three American prisoners and handed them over to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, clearing a major obstacle to an unprecedented summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The men, who were freed after Pompeo met Kim, were on their way home aboard the chief U.S. diplomat’s plane, and Trump said he would greet them when they arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington on Thursday morning. “We would like to express our deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and the people of the United States for bringing us home,” the three said in a statement released by the State Department as their plane stopped over in Alaska. “We thank God, and all our families and friends who prayed for us and for our return. God Bless America, the greatest nation in the world.” The release, praised by the White House as a “gesture of goodwill,” … [Read more...] about Three Americans freed by North Korea head home, thank Trump

Dismayed European allies sought on Wednesday to salvage the Iran nuclear deal and preserve their Iranian trade after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the landmark accord and ordered sanctions reimposed on Tehran. “The deal is not dead. There’s an American withdrawal from the deal but the deal is still there,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. But Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who helped engineer the 2015 deal to ease Iran’s economically crippling isolation, told French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in a phone call that Europe had only a “limited opportunity” to preserve the pact, the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported. “(Europe)... must, as quickly as possible, clarify its position and specify and announce its intentions with regard to its obligations,” ISNA quoted Rouhani as telling Macron. Macron, who like other European leaders had lobbied Trump to keep the agreement that … [Read more...] about Europeans work to save Iran deal, and business, after Trump pulls out

Nine people were killed on Wednesday (May 2) after an ageing US military cargo crashed on its final scheduled flight before being mothballed, officials said. Flames and smoke rise from an Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane after it crashed near Savannah, Georgia, Wednesday, May 2, 2018. Photo soure: AP The C-130 "Hercules" cargo plane from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard crashed around 11.30am (11.30pm Singapore time) near the Savannah airport. Footage of the crash showed it falling from the sky then exploding in a fireball. Officials at first said five crewmembers were killed, but it later emerged that other people were also on board. "We've confirmed nine people, consisting of five crewmembers and four additional passengers" were on board, Puerto Rico National Guard spokesman Major Paul Dahlen said. He said the four others were also members of the military. Dahlen could not immediately confirm all nine had died, but said images of the crash spoke for … [Read more...] about 9 killed in fiery US military plane crash

US President Donald Trump issued a blunt face-to-face challenge to Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in full view of the cameras on Wednesday (Apr 18), demanding more favourable terms on trade. US President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe take part in a working lunch at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. (AFP/MANDEL NGAN) "As the prime minister knows, they have done very well with the United States. We have a very big deficit," Trump said as the two leaders and their delegations sat across the table from each other at Trump's Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida. Insisting the "relationship is a very good one," Trump nonetheless broke with the usual diplomatic niceties, urging Abe do more to make trade "free, fair and reciprocal." "We have a massive deficit with Japan," he said, pointing to passenger plane and fighter jet orders that could plug the gap before railing about unfair practices. "The word 'reciprocal' is that when you have a car come in, … [Read more...] about Trump issues public challenge to Abe on trade

By Reuters &nbspApril 6, 2018 | 08:18 am GMT+7 Members of border security forces stand in front of a docking cargo ship at Qingdao port in Shandong province, China March 8, 2018. Photo by China Daily via Reuters The tariffs have stirred fears that the two countries will spiral into a trade war that will crush global growth. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China, fueling an already heated trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump said in a statement the further tariffs were being considered “in light of China’s unfair retaliation” against earlier U.S. trade actions that included $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods. He added that the U.S. Trade Representative had determined that China “has repeatedly engaged in practices to unfairly obtain America’s intellectual property.” U.S. stock index futures … [Read more...] about Trump proposes $100 billion more in new tariffs on China

All 66 people on board an Iranian passenger plane were feared dead on Sunday after it crashed into the country's Zagros mountains, with emergency services struggling to locate the wreckage in blizzard conditions. Aseman Airlines flight EP3704 disappeared from radar around 45 minutes after takeoff from Tehran's Mehrabad airport, the airline's public relations chief Mohammad Tabatabai told state broadcaster IRIB. It was the third disaster to strike Iran in recent months, after an earthquake that killed at least 620 people in Kermanshah in November and 30 Iranian sailors were lost in an oil tanker collision off China's coast last month. The ATR-72 twin-engine plane, in service for 25 years, left the capital around 0800 (0430 GMT) and was heading towards the city of Yasuj, some 500 kilometres (300 miles) to the south. After conflicting reports on fatalities and the location of the crash, officials said rescue teams were still not able to find the wreckage. "We still have no access to the … [Read more...] about 66 feared dead as plane crashes in Iran mountains

By AFP &nbspFebruary 13, 2018 | 10:19 am GMT+7 A photo taken on May 6, 2017 shows Saratov Airlines airline plane An-148 with a tail number of RA-61704 on an airstrip at Moscow's Domodedovo international airport outside Moscow. Photo by AFP/Marina Lystseva Trump spoke with Putin to 'express his condolences regarding the crash of Saratov Airlines Flight 703.'​ U.S. President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday to offer his condolences after a deadly plane crash near Moscow, a White House official said. The call between the two leaders -- who are at the center of an FBI investigation into Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election -- took place after a plane crashed minutes after takeoff from Domodedovo airport, killing all 71 people on board. Trump spoke with Putin to "express his condolences regarding the crash of Saratov Airlines Flight 703 on February 11," the White House said, offering its account of the … [Read more...] about Trump offers Putin condolences over plane crash​

According to a White House statement, Trump expressed his condolences over the crash of Saratov Airlines Flight 703 on Sunday (Feb.11), saying the United States was standing by to assist Russian authorities in the investigation. The Russian airliner carrying 71 people crashed shortly after taking off from Moscow, killing all the 65 passengers and 6 crew members on board. In response, Trump said that it is now time to work toward an enduring peace agreement. The Trump administration in December announced its recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, saying it plans to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the city that the Palestinians also claimed as its capital. The decision has sparked global condemnation. In response, Washington suspended its funding for Palestinian refugees in a bid to force Palestine to accept U.S.-deliberated peace plan in Middle East, which was rejected by the Palestinian side. During the Monday conversation, Trump and Putin also … [Read more...] about Trump, Putin speak over phone on plane crash, Middle East

The United Arab Emirates accused neighbouring Qatar of "intercepting" two Emirati passenger planes en route to Bahrain on Monday in the latest incident between the Gulf rivals.Qatar denied the allegations as "totally baseless" and hit back that they came "one day after a C-130 UAE military aircraft breached Qatari airspace".Tensions have escalated in the Gulf since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of supporting Islamist extremists and being too close to Saudi Arabia's arch-rival, Iran.They have banned all flights to and from Doha and cut off most trade links.Qatar denies the allegations, arguing the bloc aims to incite regime change in Doha.The UAE Civil Aviation Authority said it "received a message from a national carrier on Monday morning that an aircraft on a routine flight to Manama was intercepted by Qatari fighter jets".The authority said it was "a flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation … [Read more...] about UAE accuses Qatar of ‘intercepting’ 2 passenger planes